Valve grinding device



Feb. 6, 1951 A. DE GENOVA 2,540,715

VALVE GRINDING DEVICE Filed 001;. 7, 1947 All 17 m 45 277E? Awaezw 0: GEA/OVA' & I

Patented Feb. 6, 1951 UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE VALVE GRINDING DEVICE I Andrew De Geneva, Chicago, 111. Application can... 7, 1947, Serial No. 778,323

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in valve grinding tools and more particularly concerns a device which is adapted to grip the head of a poppet valve for turning the same to grind the same into its seat.

In grinding a poppet valve to its seat, the head thereof is rotated against its seat in the presence of a grinding compound. The heads of some of the poppet valves are provided with sockets wherein lugs or prongs of a valve turning tool are received. Suchsockets, however, usually fill up with hard carbon in the use of the valve. Moreover, more recently the poppet valve heads .have been made without such sockets, for various reasons, among which may be mentioned the popularization of rubber suction cup grippers for engaging the valve head as part of the grinding tool.

While rubber suction cup type of grinding tool averts the difficulties encountered due to closing of valve tool sockets in the poppet valve head,

the rubber suction cups are very short lived due primarily to the abrasive action of carbon deposited on the valve head. .In other words, the

carbon destroys the sealing surface of the vacuum cup and thereby allows the cup to slip relative to the valve head and thus become useless.

According to my invention, the various difficulties attendant upon engagement of the poppet valve head for grinding purposesare effectually overcome by the provision of a metallic valve head engaging device which is self-attaching,

that is, requires no sockets in the valve head for its attachment, and effects a positive sustained grip upon the valve head in spite of carbon deposits, pitting, or any other conditions that may prevail on the valve head.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a valve grinding tool comprising a jaw-type metallic valve head gripping device which is simple in construction and utterly easy to apply and which can be used on successive tion, showing the same applied to a poppet valve elevational view of one end of the valve head engaging portion of the device of Fig. 5.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, a valve grinding device It is constructed and arranged to seat upon and firmly grip a poppet valve I I of the conventional form having a beveled, generally frusto conical seating surface l2 at the underside of a head I3 which is fiat on top and has a cylindrical rim 14 between the upper edge valves an indefinite number of times without" wearing out.

A further object of the invention is to provide a valve gripping device for grinding purposes which can be produced economically by mass grinding device according to the present invenof the seat [2 and the top.

The device lll'engages upon the top of the poppet valve head l3 and retainingly grips the rim l4. To this end the device comprises a pair of diametrically opposite, spaced, vertical legs 15 which are connected integrally and preferably in one piece by means of an upper body portion l1, and have lower end faces l8 formed coplanar and providing shoulders to rest flatwise upon the top of the poppet valve head. The device It! may conveniently be made asa stamping, forging, or turning from suitable metal such as steel, and

in generally inverted U-shape.

Each of the legs I5 is preferably of a length to be swingable in a limited range toward and away from the other leg and therefore, Where,

asin-the present instance, the device is made extending to a diameter'greater than the diame- ,ter of the rim 14 so as to overhang the same cantilever fashion. The radial extent of the flange I9,'however, is limited to remain substantially inside of an upward extension of the conical plane of the seating shoulder [2 of the valve head, such extension being shown by way of illustration by the dash line 2!) in Fig. 3. This avoids 3 any interference with the conical valve seat extension on an engine block with which the valve I I may be associated.

Self-retaining gripping attachment of the device IO upon the valve head I3 is effected through an integral downwardly and inwardly projecting attachment lip 2| formed at the extremity of the flange IQ of each of the legs of the device. For optimum gripping effectiveness of the lip 2'I it is formed to make engagement with the valve head rim I4 on a substantial arcuate area of the rim. In addition, the lip 2I is formed to make biting line contact with the rim I4 and for this purpose is formed with a generally radially inwardly projecting biting line contact edge 22 of preferably substantially knife edge character defined at its upper side by a relief undercut 23 and at its lower side by an outwardly and downwardly tapering bevel 24. Extending from the bevel 24 to the outer tip of the flange I9 is a bevel 25 preferably generally parallel to and spaced inwardly from the plane 20 of the valve seat shoulder I2. As a result of this arrangement, the device I is adapted to be applied to the valve II while the valve is seated in operative, relationto an engine block by pressing the device I0 down upon the valve head 13 until the abutment faces 18 of .the legs I engage the head and the self-retaining biting, gripping edge 22 of each of the legsengages the valve head rim I4. 'It will'be understood, of coursefthat the circle described by the retaining edges 22 of the legs of the device will be approximately the same as the perimeter described'by the rim I4. That is, the device Ill is preferably dimensioned for a particular size of valve head I3'.- Initially the legs I5 may, if desired, be slightly .toed in so that in applying the device to the valve head I3 the beveled surface 24 will come first .into contact'with the top edge of the valve head and .cam thereover in response to downward pressure upon the device I0 until the retaining edges 22 W of the legs snap over the rim I4 and the legs come to rest .at their abutment faces I8 up on the valve head I3. With such an arrangement the resilience of the device effects a substantial gripping tension in the legs I5 which drives'the retaining line contact edges 22 into substantial gripping engagement with the rim I4. vThe undercut 23 avoids interference with proper line contact engagement of the edges 22, especially should there be any carbon deposit on the rim I4. Whether or not there is carbon on the rim I 4 or whether the rim ispitted or longitudinally striated as is so often the case since this .89 applied to the .opposite end where it projects through one of the legs. Thus,'before the device I0 is applied to the valve, the nut may be loosened so that the legs I55 ofv the device can .enter freely into engagement with the valve head, .and thereafter the bolt is tightened to place the legs I5 under clamping stress and drive i the line contact edges 22 into tight, non-slip retaining engagement with the valve head rim I4. Thus, not only is the device Ill attached to the valve head I3 in a manner which will prevent its axial displacement from the valve head but,

more importantly, thedevice is engaged upon 5 the valve head against relative turning even in the presence of substantial resistance to joint rotation of the device and'the valve during grind- After the device It] has been applied to the valve II, it is adapted to be turned by means of a suitable grinding tool crank (not shown) which may be of any conventional or preferred construction and provided with a lug or a plurality of lugs engageable with the head or body portion 11 of the device. head portion H of the device is preferably pro vided with spaced aligned lug sockets 3| for receiving a multi-lug engagement end of a grinding tool crank and also with a central elongated slot-like socket 32 for receiving a single ,lug turning crank. Of course, if preferred, a screw driver maybe used for turning the device the tip of the screwdriver being inserted'into the lug socket 32. By having the respective socket arrangements 3| and 32 disposed in angular relation as shown, they can be disposed relatively close together and weakening of the head I! is avoided. Since the legs 15 of the 'de vice are formed on an arc of substantial length and the head I! is of substantial width, it will be clear that force applied to the head portion ll will be transmitted with substantial efficiency to the legs I5.

Where due to limited clearances, itis necessary to have as nearly as practicable freedom from any substantial projections beyond the outer faces of the legs of the valve head gripping device, a leg tightening arrangement such as shown in Fig. '4 maybe employed. .In this arrangement the various structural details of the device, here identified generically by the numeral ,IU' are identical with the device II], but legs I5 thereof are tightened together for substantially settingthe grip thereof on the head of the valve I l by means of a screw 33 which extends through a, countersunk aperture .34 in one of the legs and is threaded into a tapped aperture 35 .in the otherleg. A tapered slotted head 3'! on the screw is engageableiby a screw driver forloosen'ing or tightening the screw and is received flush within the outer face of the contiguous leg l5.

In the modificationof Figs. 5 and 6, a valve grinding device 40 having substantiallyv the same characteristics as the previously described forms of device, is formed from thin sheet metal, preferably spring steel so that the device can besubstantially completed in :a spring making machine. 'To this end the device 40 is made from one piece of spring steel bent to form a head or body 41 60 and a pair of opposing valve head engaging and clamping legs 42 connected together at their opposite ends by the integral body portion 4| formed 'in one piece therewith. The legs 42 maybe formed somewhat longer than the legs of the device III, 5 for example, so as to attain substantial clamping leverage therein, especially where a tightening bolt 43 is used for'effectinga positive clamping action of the legs after the device has been applied to a valve head. Herein the bolt is shown :as secured between the legs adjacent to the-lower ends thereof and as equipped with a thumb-nut to facilitate tightening the bolt.

The clamping .legs 42 are preferably formed arcuately in cross section whereby they are-subs stantially reinforced and stiffened against bend- As shown in Fig. 2, the

inout of shape and will afford strong clamping action on the valve head. 'The circle described by the circumference of the legs 42 is preferably smaller than the circumference of a valve head to be engaged by the device and the lower ends of the legs are formed with radically outwardly projecting flanges 45 which are adaptedtorest against the head of the valve. For ripping the valve rim,

the terminal portions of the flanges 45 are turned down and in, obliquely to provide retaining flange portions 41 which are in turn formed at their extremities with diagonally downwardly and outground away on the lower portion thereof from an original outline or proportion as indicated by the dash line 5| in Fig. 6, so as to afford an obliquegenerally downwardly and radially outwardly extending surface 52 convergin with the surface 50 at a sharp, uniform biting edge at 49. The diagonal surface 52 serves as a cam face engageable with the upper edge extremity of the l Iv'alve head for resiliently spreading the legs 42 as an incident to applying the device 40 to the valve.

At its end the extremity flange portion 48 is trimmed back, as by grinding, close to the adjacent outer surface of the flange portion 41 to provide an edge surface 53 which is so related to the lip structure that it will lie inside of the valve seat plane of the associated valve head. It should be observed that both the surface 53 of the device 40 and the surface 25 of the device I!) should be so related to the respective lip structures that the valve seatplane will be cleared even after the valve seat shoulder has been ground down substantially and the valve head rim is substantially narrower than originally provided on the valve when itis new. a

From the foregoing it will be apparent that there has been provided by the present invention an efficient, simple, and easily applicable device forming part of a grinding tool assembly for engaging with the head of a poppet valve so that the poppet valve can be readily turned for seat grind ng purposes. The uniform fine line, substantially knife edge valve-rim engaging lip provided on each of the legs of the device in all forms thereof effects a strong, non-slipping engagement with the valve head rim by reason of the relatively large arc of interengagement with the valve head rim. As a result, it is only neces sary to have moderate clamping pressure of the legs upon the valve head rim in order to assure effective non-slipping attachment of the device to the valve head. Although the several forms of the device have been shown as including means such as bolts for positively securing the legs into the clamping relation to the valve head, such means maybe dispensed with where the legs of the device are of suflicient inherent resilient gripping strength. There is of course an advantage in not'having the, legs grip too tightly of their own accord since the device can thereby be more easily applied to and removed from the valve head. Of course, with a device such as that shown in Fig. 4 where the engagement legs are relatively long, the device may very well be made to be self-retaining through the inherent resiliency of the legs 42 without a positive drawup bolt since when the device is to be removed or applied the legs thereof are adapted to be flexed slightly apart manually or with a tool.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device for engaging a poppet valve head in a grinding tool assembly, a head or body part, downwardly projecting legs at the ends of the body, said legs being of externally arcuate form concentric with the head of the valve to which the device may be applied but of a smaller diameter, each of said legs having at the lower end thereof a radially outwardly extending flange including a downwardly and inwardly extending lip engageable with the rim of the valve head throughout a substantial arcuate area of the rim, said head having a pair of lug sockets extending on a diagonal line across the axis of the head and a central elongated lug socket diagonally disposed between said first mentioned lug socket.

2. 'In a valve grinding tool, a member for gripping the head of a poppet valve for valve seat grinding purposes, said member comprising a pair of opposed arcuate gripper portions each of which has a shoulder to rest upon the head of the poppet valve to be gripped and an arcuate fine line self-retaining biting edge lip comprising a horizontal sector of substantial length offset from the plane of the shoulder and directed generally radially inwardly and generally conforming in radius to the cylindrical surface of the poppet valve rim for eifecting biting engagement therewith, each of said lips being defined intermediate its biting edge and it companion shoulder by a substantial undercut and also being provided at its outer side by a tapered surface for clearance with respect to a valve seat surface into which the valve is to be ground.

3. In a valve grinding toolv device adapted to be applied to the head of a poppet valve for grip:

ping the same to effect rotation thereof for valve seat grinding, a pair of generally upright, spaced legs connected together at their upper ends and having at their lower ends radially inwardly projecting arcuate fine line self-retaining biting edge lips comprising horizontal sectors of substantial length generally conforming in radius to and thereby conformably securely engageable with the rim of a valve head, and means engageable with the top of the valve head for defining the vertical position of said lips to engage the peripheral surface of the rim close to its upper edge, the upper portion of the device being slotted to receive means for turning the device.

4. In a valve grinding tool device adapted to be applied to the head of a poppet valve for gripping the same to effect rotation thereof for valve seat grinding, a pair of generally upright, spaced legs connected together at their upper ends and having at their lower ends radially inwardly projecting arcuate fine line self-retaining biting edge lips generally conforming in radius to and thereby conformably securely engageable with the rim of a valve head, means engageable with thetop 0f the valve head for defining the vertical position of said lips to engage the peanew ,ripheral surface of the rim .close to its upper edge, :said ,legsbeing resiliently deflectable, and a .draw up bolt 'operably engaged between said legs and adapted to draw the same together for effecting a strong biting engagement between said biting edge lips and the valve head rim.

,5. In "a valve grinding tool device adaptedto be applied to the head of a poppet valve for gripping theisame to efiect rotation thereof for valve seat grinding, a pair of opposed generally upright, spaced legshaving at their lower ends radially inwardly projecting arcuate fine line engaged between said legs and adapted to draw the same together for effecting a strong biting gripping engagement between the biting edge lips and the valve head rim 6. In a poppet valve grindingtool -device for grinding a poppet valve into its seat and wherein the poppet valve has a narrow rim, a unit including a plurality of generally upright legs each of which has an arcuate valve-head rimengaging substantially knife edge lipformed on a horizontal radius to engage a substantial sector of the rim, and respective shoulders on said legs facing downwardly and spaced above said knife -eeivea member forturning'the unitanda valve engaged thereby. I

p '8. In poppet valve grinding tool device :for grindinga poppet valve into itsseat and wherein the poppet valve has va narrow rim, .a unit including a plurality of generally upright .legs

'each of which has an arcuate valve-headrimengaging substantially knife edge liprformed on ;a horizontal radius to-engage a substantial sector of the-rim, respective shoulders on saidlegs facing downwardly and spaced above said knife edge lips-less than the width of the valve head rim so as to, assure engagement .ofthe rim closely adjacent to the-topof the valve headand spaced from the loweredge-of the valve headrimrand means on theupperportionof the unit providing 'a body structure in one piece with the upper edge lips less than the width of the valve head rim so as to assure engagement of the rim closely adjacent to the top of the valve head and spaced from thelower edge of the valve head rim.

7. In a poppet valve grinding tool device for grinding a poppet valve into its seat and wherein the poppet valve has a narrow rim, a unit including ,a plurality of generally upright legs .each of which has an arcuate valve-head rimengaging substantially knife edge lip formed on a horizontal radius to engage a substantial sector of the rim, respective shoulders on said legs facing downwardly and spaced above said knife edge lips less than the width of the valve head rim so as to assure engagement of the rim closely adjacent to the top of the valve head and spaced 'from the lower edge of the valve head rim, and

means on the upper portion of the unit to re- Number portionsof the legsconnecting the legs together in the unit.

9. ..In a poppetvalve grinding tool device for grinding apoppet valve into its seat and wherein the poppet valve has a narrow rim, a unit including a plurality of generally uprightjlegs .each of which has .an arcuate valve-head'rim engaging substantially knife-edge lip formed on a horizontal radius I-tO engage asubstantial sector of the rim, and respective shoulders on said legs facing downwardly and spaced above said knife ledge lips less than the Width of the valve head rim so as to assure engagement of the .rim closely adjacent to the top of the valve head and spaced from the lower edge of the valve head rim, said unit comprising a one piece sheet metal strip bent into substantially U-shape and with the legs comprising the opposite legs of the U and of arcuate outwardly bowed cross section.

vANDREW DE GENOVA.

REFERENCES CITED' The following references are of record inthe file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Swallow et a1 Feb. '9, I892 Finkbeiner Aug. 14, 1917 Dougherty Dec. 9, 1941 Nelson June 19,1945

FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Sept. 26, 1930 Number 

